*The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention has been thrust into controversy just one day after announcing that former President Donald Trump will address the group in Chicago tomorrow, Wednesday. Yesterday, Tuesday, convention co-chair Karen Attiah announced her resignation, citing her exclusion from the decision to invite Trump.
Attiah expressed her discontent on X, formerly known as Twitter, stating, “While my decision was influenced by a variety of factors, I was not involved or consulted with in any way with the decision to platform Trump in such a format.”
The decision to invite Trump has ignited a wave of criticism from prominent journalists. Jim Trotter, NABJ’s 2023 Journalist of the Year, referred to the decision as “poor” and said “it’s difficult to put into words” his disappointment. Pulitzer Prize nominee and previous NABJ award winner, Carron J. Phillips, was more forthright, calling it “the single dumbest and worst decision in NABJ history.”
In response to Phillips, Tia Mitchell of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution defended the decision. “I helped make this call. And it’s in line with invitations NABJ has sent to every presidential candidate for decades. But continue to go off on your feed. I’ll continue to work to create opportunities for journalists to interview the potential next President,” Mitchell wrote on X, reports The NY Post.
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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also commented on the scheduled appearance of the former president on Tuesday.
The convention, which runs from July 31 to August 4 at the Hilton Chicago in the South Loop, is described on NABJ’s website as a hub for journalism education, career development, networking, and innovation.
Trump’s appearance is scheduled for a Q&A session with political journalists at noon on Wednesday, focusing on pressing issues facing the Black community.
The event will be moderated by ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott, along with FOX News’s Harris Faulkner and Semafor’s Kadia Goba.
Despite the backlash, NABJ President Ken Lemon emphasized the organization’s commitment to bringing diverse perspectives to the forefront.
“We look forward to our attendees hearing from former President Trump on the critical issues our members and their audiences care about most,” Lemon said. “While NABJ does not endorse political candidates as a journalism organization, we understand the serious work of our members, and welcome the opportunity for them to ask the tough questions that will provide the truthful answers Black Americans want and need to know.”
The event, although not open to the general public, will be live-streamed via NABJ’s YouTube and Facebook pages.
Post the Q&A session, Trump will head to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, for a rally, with later plans to return to Butler, Pennsylvania for the first time since an attempted assassination.
As the convention unfolds, the decision to host Trump remains a polarizing issue among its members, reflecting broader national divisions over the former president. While some view his participation as a critical journalistic opportunity, others perceive it as an endorsement of a figure whose policies and rhetoric have often been at odds with the interests of the Black community.
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